Belief is half the battle
by setyourlazerstopew
Summary: "You know, I was quirkless until I was 14." Shinsou's eyes widen as he turns his head towards him. - Shinsou realises that even with a heroic quirk, people might not have had it as easy as he though


Getting into Class 1-A feels a little anticlimactic in a way.

After Aizawa took him under his wing, he spent countless afternoons after class and weekends being worked to the ground so he could catch up to Class 1A. He never found out what it was about himself that inspired Aizawa to chose him to mentor, but regardless he was grateful. Aizawa was one of the first people to believe in him.

Despite all the work that he puts into his training and the steadfast support of Aizawa, there is always a niggling voice that lingers in the back of his mind. A voice that whispers that someone will realise that he doesn't deserve his place in the hero course, that it was a mistake, and how could someone with a quirk like **his** make it as a hero. All things that he's heard before in a million different ways, usually to his face.

He made it into the Hero course and he can't even settle enough to enjoy it properly.

Another thing that he can't fully believe is how welcoming the class is. Midoriya was the first to talk to Shinsou, asking about his quirk without any apprehension or hatred in his expression and Shinsou, caught in his surprise, had answered his questions without reservation. Most of the class followed his example and began opening up, inviting him into conversations, asking him to lunch. He didn't know what to make of it.

Midoriya has a way of befriending people and earning their respect that Shinsou can't help but be in awe of. He's heard from the class how Todoroki, so closed off in the beginning of term, had let himself open up after his fight with Midoriya in the sports festival, not to mention how he finds himself relaxing around Midoriya and his entourage. He thinks that the disarming bambi eyes are a part of it, but if Midoriya's strength quirk wasn't known, he might have thought that this was the effect of a quirk.

He had run into Midoriya in the training grounds after class one time, both of them intending to put in a few hours of training in before delving into homework. Midoriya had offered to spar together and as they discovered that they trained at similar times each day they decided to meet up on some afternoons to continue to train together.

And that's where Shinsou is now, hunched over, bracing his hands on his knees and breathing heavily.

Midoriya, the jerk, doesn't look as tired as him. He supposes that he still has a way to go to truly catch up to the rest of the class. He doesn't think this with as much bitterness as he might have a couple months ago. He's already proven himself plenty.

He decides that since it was only Midoriya here he could relax a bit and so collapses heavy limbed onto the grass, his arms spreading out while his chest continues to heave oxygen into his lungs. Midoriya with his hands nonchalantly held behind his head looks down at him for a moment with a grin before joining him on the cool grass.

They breath together for a few minutes, calming down before they have to think about having to get up again. Shinsou doesn't feel the need to say anything so he closes his eyes to enjoy the moment of stillness between them. It wasn't often that he enjoys the silence between him and someone else, silences around him are usually the product of fear that he'd use his power.

Midoriya is the exception of every preconception he had, and he is not a fan of silence.

He expects this by how often Midoriya breaks out into his muttering rants. The first time he was around for one he felt concern sweep through him before he made eye contact with a few of his new classmates. Uraraka shook her head fondly and reassured him that, yeah, that was normal Midoriya behaviour. He became used to it quickly and soon he was actively listening to the muttering. When he could decipher it, what Midoriya was relating to himself was actually a really informative analysis of whatever Midoriya's brain was fixated on at that moment, and it was… interesting.

He was able to follow Midoriya's leaps of logic most of the time but he still didn't expect the words that came out of his mouth next.

"You know, I was quirkless until I was 14."

Shinsou's eyes widen as he turns his head towards him. Midoriya had said it with such nonchalance but as Shinsou looks over to him carefully he can see the line of tension in his figure, his eyes fixed on the sky above.

"Quirkless?" The word escapes his mouth in incredulity as he sits up in his shock. Developing a quirk that late was practically unheard of! And that was only a year ago max, and he had an amazing quirk now. Midoriya smiles ruefully up at the sky when he hears his shock.

"Yeah, crazy huh?" His voice taking on a fake upbeat tone, "Have you heard of the types of quirks that need a specific trigger for them to manifest? It was like that."

Shinsou's still reeling from this new information. Those kind of quirks were pretty rare. He remembered one story of a young girl who fell into the sea and manifested gills in her panic. Midoriya's quirk was really like that?

"Before it manifested I lived as a quirkless kid." Midoriya sits up and hunches into himself and Shinsou could feel guilt start to drip down his back. He said a lot of things during the sports festival about Midoriya being born with a heroes quirk, but Midoriya had to wait without the promise of one.

"If you think about pure numbers 20% of the population seems like a lot but I don't think I ever knowingly met a quirkless person growing up." His voice takes on a wistful quality as he continues, "I was surrounded by amazing quirks everyday waiting for mine to development until I gave up waiting."

Shinsou watches him warily and doesn't say anything. Why was he telling him this.

Midoriya turns his head to make eye contact, startling him for a second as he takes in his earnest gaze.

"I know how it feels to be ostracised by something out of your control, because of a label that you are given." He states softly into the silence. Shinsou breaks eye contact as understanding dawns on him.

Being quirkless in these times must have been hard. He never knew any quirkless kids growing up and he knows how cruel children can be. He appreciates that Midoriya opened up about something that was deeply personal, but he feels like there is a big difference between not having a quirk and being labelled by a villain by everyone you see.

"I appreciate that but you have an amazing quirk now while I still have the label of villain to work past." He mutters a little bitterly into his legs as he curls up.

Midoriya luckily doesn't seem to take any offence and is silent for a moment before he replies.

"You can't control what people think but you can influence it. You have an amazing quirk Shinsou, one suited to heroism despite what people may have told you. And if you want to be a hero and help everyone, people are going to see that and change their opinion." His eyes are glittering in their belief while still pinned on Shinsou.

Shinsou relaxes and lets Midoriya's words lift him up. They remind him a bit of what Aizawa had said to him before and if two people had said it, it has to have some backing behind it. Let his actions speak for themselves. He'll become a hero, not just to spite those who said he couldn't, but because he wants to help people.

He hears shuffling and realises that Midoriya had started to collect up their stuff by himself, letting Shinsou digest all he had said. He stood up to get their bags and let Midoriya dump everything in them. By an unspoken agreement after they pack up, they start walking out of the training grounds together. When they reach the exit Shinsou finally says something.

"Thanks"

Midoriya smiles at that.

"No problem."

And Shinsou thinks that he might actually mean it.

They walk together quietly for a few minutes but there is still one thing bothering Shinsou.

"Midoriya?"

"Yeah?"

"How the hell did you get into UA?" He laughs at the blunt question.

"A lot, and I mean a lot of training. I found someone that believed in me and I decided that if I didn't have a quirk then I would just have to train really hard to get into the Hero course!"

"Wait," Shinsou's mind was reeling once again, "You decided to enter UA's Heroes course without a quirk?!" Midoriya sheepishly raises his hand to the back of his neck before nervously laughing.

"Ahaha yeah but," he adds in his haste, "When I built up some muscle my body decided that it was ready to begin to handle my quirk and it… burst out I guess." He grins, "I used my quirk for the first time during the UA entrance exam and broke my arm and both my legs trying to save someone from being crushed."

Shinsou just… stops at that last statement, flabbergasted. Midoriya keeps walking but quickly realises that Shinsou has stalled and looks back at him quizzically. Why does he look so confused at Shinsou's shock? Surely he realises how insane that all sounds?

"Midoriya, your life is crazy." He bursts out in laughter at this flatly delivered statement before replying in between chuckles.

"Shinsou, you don't even know the half of it."

* * *

Hey, thanks for reading!

During the sports festival, you could really see feel that Midoriya empathised with Shinsou's struggle to become a hero and I wanted to see him open up to Shinsou a bit. So this little thing happened.

#ShinsouforClass1A


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